About everything pretty

Lipsticks for tan/olive skin tones – How to know your undertone

As mentioned in my bio, one of the reasons to start this blog was because we dusky women don’t have many make up tips to look out for.

So, this post is dedicated to Lipsticks – my most favourite make up item and something that’s no less than a magic wand in terms of transforming one’s look!

To begin with, one needs to know their Skin tone and undertone while purchasing their lipsticks. Do not follow the myths that reds only look good on fair skin tone or that dark colors don’t look good on tanned people.

I have tan olive skin and dark colors look great on me. In fact light colors tend to wash me out.

To know what’s your undertone you can try these methods:

1 – Hold out your wrist and look at the color of your veins. Are they greenish or bluish? If they are on a greener side, the you have warm under tone, if it’s bluish then you have cool undertones and if it looks both blue and green, then you may have neutral undertones.

2. What color jewellery looks better on you? If Gold color jewellery looks better on you, then you have warm undertones and if silver color jewellery looks better then you have cool undertones.

3. How does your skin react to long exposure in the sun? Does it tan or burn? If your skin gets easily tanned, then you have warm undertones. If your skin gets sunburnt easily, then you have cool undertones. Either ways, do apply a sun screen 🙂

In my case, I have greenish veins, gold jewellery looks great on me and my skin tans really easily! – I clearly have warm undertones.

If you are confused, you may have neutral undertones and wider range of colors would suit you 🙂

Let’s take a look at the lipsticks that look nice on my olive skin and may suit your skin tone as well:

The swatches are on the left and the lipcolors and on the right side. (Going from bottom right to left and to the top)

1. Is the sleek Faces Ultimate Pro lipcolor in shade 07 called Read My Lips, that is kept behind my lipstick organizer. It is a pretty pink with creamy matte finish that lasts upto 5-6 hours. Can be purchased from any cosmetic store that has Faces products or their standalone stores, usually located in malls. Price – Rs. 699/-

2. Is my absolute favorite lipcolor MAC Ruby Woo. I am not the only one who swears by this beauty, there are many Hollywood and bollywood celebrities who have sported this lipcolor a lot of times. It is a retro matte red that looks great on all skin tones – Yes! No matter what your skin or undertone is, this will look great on you. If you don’t wish to go for such a bright deep red, you can opt for MAC Russian Red which is a brick red or MAC Red – which is just a reddy red – You’ll know if you see it. They last upto 7-8 hours and a powder matte shade like Ruby woo can leave your lips dry after a while. These are available at MAC outlets in your city or at select Shopperstop stores for Rs. 1450/-

3. Lady Danger is a Vermillion color – shade which is a bit orange and a bit reddish too. I really wanted to own an orange lipcolor but the typical oranges don’t look good on me. MAC also has Morange and So Chaud that look good on my skin tone, but I prefer Lady Danger as it is more versatile. Swiping it across my lips makes me party ready in a jiffy or dabbing it on my lips gives a wonderful tangerine look. This lipstick is creamy matte that stays upto 5-6 hours.These are available at MAC outlets in your city or at select Shopperstop stores for Rs. 1450/-

4. Next is MAC’s Lickable from their Cremesheen collection. As it’s name goes, the lipcolors in this range have shimmer and are creamy to apply. It is a pretty pink – very similar to Read My Lips but with shimmer and more creamier – which makes it bleed most of the times after sometime. This is not a matte lipstick, therefore I am not a great fan of it, but since it was a gift from a dear friend, I use it fondly 🙂

5. This is a Neon Pink from MAC’s Pro longwear lip creme collection called Dear Diary. The texture of this lipcolor is such that you need to have a base underneath it. Either foundation or another lipcolor or lip liner application is required for best results. This is a pink I had purchased long ago when the market hadn’t flooded with options for Fuschia lipsticks – SO I had to make do with what was available.

6. Givenchy Rouge Interdit in color 17 Rouge Cancan– true red in glossy finish. It is described as more than a lipstick: it’s a fashion accessory with a designer signature. Its fine, spreadable texture melts over the lips. It is also said to be long lasting, but it is not. Price – Rs. 2300/- Available in Givenchy stores.

7. This one is a nude shade from Clinique called Pink Chocolate. The color is as pretty as it’s name. It is a gorgeous nude color which is perfect for simple look or one with dramatic eyes. The finish is creamy and matte – one of the best textures ever. Available in Clinique stores for Rs. 1300

8. NYX is a US drugstore brand which is inexpensive but has a wide range of lip colors to choose from. I have 2 of the matte ones here. The first one is a gorgeous orangish corally nude – good to wear during the day. the texture is fantastic and it lasts upto 3-4 hours. Available on ebay for approx. Rs. 500

9. One of my most favorite colors – NYX Aria!! It’s a beautiful pinkish purple – the only one that suits me in fact. The others offered by Revlon and all make me look like a Vamp The texture again, is great and the lipstick lasts for 5-6 hours and leaves a pretty pinkish purple stain behind. Available on ebay for approx. Rs. 500

10. Wet n’ Wild – Another US drugstore brand that has great lipcolors. Why don’t they come to India? Rather, why can’t we make such products?! Anyway, this shade is 918D called Cherry bomb. It is a very dark maroon – gives a goth look at times, but looks amazing on my skin tone. It has matte finish and lasts upto 4 hours. Available on ebay for approx. Rs. 400

11. 910D is called Red Velvet. It is a beautiful blood red color that has an undertone of pink in it. So after a while it can look like pinkish red – but I am not complaining because it still looks pretty amazing. The texture is creamy, finish is matte and lasts upto 4 hours. Available on ebay for approx. Rs. 400

12. This is a Colorbar lipstick in Shy Cherry shade. It looks superb on my skin tone and is great for daily or office wear as it is a mute subtle red that would not distract your colleagues 😛 If you have been wanting to buy a red lipcolor but doubt it would suit you, you can try out this one first. Once you’re used to this, you can graduate to any of the MAC reds or buy the shade called ‘Hot hot hot’ from the same Colorbar range. The best part about this lipstick range is that it is priced merely at Rs. 299 approx.

13. Second last one in the swatch but last one on the lipstick organiser is Maybelline 14 hour long stay in Timeless Crimson. It is a lovely maroon color that goes beautifully with Indian outfits. Yay! It has a very nice texture and proper matte finish. These lipsticks claim to last for 14 hours but in reality they last for 5-6 hours max. Available in various stores for approx. Rs. 550

14. Last one is the Laqa & Co fat lip pencil that I received in my January Fab bag. It is one of a kind lip color – gives minty feel after applying it and has a smooth creamy texture even though it is matte. I received it in shade Palate Cleanser, which is a maroon – I wonder why the name then! You can purchase it from fabbag.com for Rs. 800/-

This post took me hours to write because the first time I was half way through it and shut the window by mistake. I hadn’t saved the draft, so I had to rewrite it all over again! 😦 Hope you liked it!

Names of the lippies

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Do let me know about other lipcolors that look good on Olive/tan skin.

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drapedinwine

Dusky Indian girl who thinks her learning, opinions, explorations can be of some help to other people with similar interests in fashion, beauty, travels, food.. life in general :)
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